Onyx Anneau Fall 2020

TONYA PFAFF ‘90 State Representative for District 43 represents her constituents in a session at the Indiana Statehouse. Pfaff photos: Reproduced with permission from the Office of Representative Tonya Pfaff at the Indiana Statehouse.

WOMEN in LEADERSHIP SMWC ALUMNI STEP UP FOR ST TEHOUSE SEATS

Inspired by their experiences at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, two alumni are seeking to break new ground in Indiana by elevating the voices of women in state legislature. O n Nov. 3, State Representative Tonya Pfaff ’90 of Terre Haute, Indiana, and Pamela Dechert ’93 of Indianapolis, Indiana, will grace their local election ballots. In a state where women have been long underrepresented as lawmakers, they are two of nearly 50 women across Indiana whose sights are set on bringing balance to the Indiana House of Representatives. Pfaff, who was initially elected as a State Representative in 2018, is up for re- election this fall. Her interest in running for public office piqued around 2010 when Indiana lawmakers pushed through education reform bills she describes as an assault on public education. As a high school math teacher for 25 years, she felt educators needed better representation at the statehouse. “As a teacher, I didn’t agree with what the General Assembly was pushing through and how they were making decisions about my profession,” Pfaff said. The next opportunity to run came in 2017 when the previous longtime seat holder announced his retirement. For Dechert, the decision to run for public office came after leading a successful capital project referendum in 2019 for the Lawrence Township

TONYA PFAFF ‘90 Pfaff, a Democrat, was elected in 2018 as the Indiana State Representative for House District 43, an area that covers the cities of Terre Haute and West Terre Haute, as well as the village of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Pfaff is the first elected woman to represent this district since World War II. “The Woods gave me confidence, a strong sense of self and determination. I was surrounded by people who want you to be the best version of yourself.”—Pfaff Pfaff is now the ranking minority member of the Natural Resources Committee. She also serves on the Education Committee and the Elections and Apportionment Committee. “I really enjoy the challenge of being a state representative. There are so many issues going on that I was not aware of before. Now, I get the opportunity to meet with people who represent different interests across the state,” Pfaff explains. She describes her life prior to public office as simply “teaching math and raising children.” Pfaff graduated from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) in 1990 with a degree in mathematics and secondary education. She married her high school sweetheart, Chris Pfaff, over 25 years ago, and after living in Germany a short time when he was deployed with the Army, they settled in Terre Haute and raised four children.

School District in Indianapolis, which is providing $191 million in upgrades and improvements for the schools. She describes herself as always having a keen interest in law and public policy, and in early 2020, she felt a deep desire to do more for her community. “It’s our job to serve. It’s our job to take the gifts we have and help make our community better,” said Dechert. During the 2020 session, women constituted less than one-quarter of the Indiana General Assembly, yet they made up 51% of the overall population of Indiana. “We need more women in the Indiana Statehouse. We have a different voice. For me, in particular, I want to represent families, working parents, mothers and children. When more women are at the table, we have better policies for health, education and families,” said Dechert. “Our General Assembly needs to be more representative of the State of Indiana. For the first time in history, more women than men made up the Democratic caucus, but if you look at the legislature as a whole, female representation was 24%. One of my goals has always been equality, especially coming from The Woods, where I gained the confidence to say, ‘Notice me, I’m here and I need to be heard,’” said Pfaff.

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